40-Year Sentence in Clerk's Slaying of Haines City Clerk

Jacroy Waddell avoided life imprisonment, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the robbery and slaying of Haines City video store clerk Jaime Magana Jr.

By JASON GEARYTHE LEDGER

BARTOW | A murder trial was cut short Tuesday and a plea deal was struck after prosecutors discovered that a detective's report had not been turned over to defense lawyers.Jacroy Waddell avoided life imprisonment. Instead, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the robbery and slaying of Haines City video store clerk Jaime Magana Jr.Outside the courtroom, Magana's family expressed disappointment, and wished Waddell would stay behind bars longer."It just seems like there were a lot of mistakes made … I guess they tried the best they could," said Maria Rodriguez, Magana's aunt.Scott Wilder, a spokesman with the Polk County Sheriff's Office, said a review of the case and its procedures will be undertaken."We certainly regret if that had any impact on the case, but we are gratified that the suspect got a 40-year prison sentence," Wilder said.Magana, 20, was shot once in the chest on Oct. 7, 2011, after opening his family's business, Video Latino on Hinson Avenue in Haines City.The store's surveillance system recorded two men enter the store at 9:17 a.m. One man wearing a camouflage cap took cash from the register. The other man wearing a Florida Marlins cap shot Magana when a struggle took place.The Polk County Sheriff's Office released images from the surveillance footage, and Waddell was identified as the gunman and Jadarius Wilson was identified as the accomplice, reports state.In November, Wilson agreed to testify against Waddell as part of a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. On Monday, lawyers selected a jury to decide whether Waddell, 30, was guilty of felony first-degree murder in Magana's killing. The charge is punishable by a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.With minutes to go before opening statements, the defense was made aware Tuesday that a detective's report had not been provided to them.Investigative reports state two detectives, Gustavo Aguirre and David Clark, interviewed Waddell. The conversation wasn't recorded, but notes were taken. Waddell did not want to provide a recorded statement, reports state.Waddell told detectives that he shot Magana when Magana began to fight him, according to reports.Waddell's lawyers conducted sworn depositions of Aguirre and Clark, court records show. They also were given the report written by Aguirre.However, Waddell's lawyers were not given a copy of Clark's report until Tuesday morning. Under Florida law, Waddell's lawyers were to be given all reports related to the murder case.Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo said law enforcement had not provided Clark's report to him, and he wasn't aware that the document existed until Monday evening while making final preparations for trial.He reported the discovery to Waddell's lawyers and the judge.Rather than go to trial and risk any issues on appeal, the State Attorney's Office opted to negotiate a plea deal with Waddell.He pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm and a lesser charge of second-degree murder in exchange for the 40-year prison sentence.

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]